Do Not Cross
by Jupiter'Cobalt
Summary: "It's this line here, Red," he tapped the dirt with the foot of his cane. "Cross this line and everything you know and love will cease to exist."


So I was on TV Tropes the other day, and when I finally escaped the torrent of links, I remembered something I read in the Nightmare Fuel section of Pokémon. There was a story someone posted of where they hacked their game and, as a consequence, upon trying to return to Pallet Town, their game froze and crashed. Or something like that. Anyway, I liked the idea as a Fanfic, so here you go. Also, bad ending is bad, as I got lazy near the end. Blech.

Edited to add a title drop.

'**Do. Not. Cross.'**

"It's this line here, Red," he tapped the dirt with the foot of his cane. "Cross this line and everything you know and love will cease to exist."

The man wore an overcoat that covered his body from his neck to his ankles. He wore all black, despite the warm weather, held a walking stick, but had no limp, and spoke with a tone of voice that would make it seem to outside listeners of the conversation that he and the boy were good friends.

They weren't.

The boy's name was Red. Despite being a mere eleven years old when he started Pokémon training, he rose to defeat every Gym leader in Kanto, break up the most infamous criminal organization in the region's history, and battle and win against the Elite Four in Indigo Plateau, becoming the all-time Pokémon Champion. Now, at the end of his epic journey, Red has returned home, to Pallet Town. But before he could even step into the tall grass at its entrance, this man appeared before him. He gave no name, no greeting, he simply stepped in front of Red as he came into view and drew a line in the dirt. It didn't stretch very far, but what it was meant to represent was clear; the point where one would either be leaving or entering Pallet.

"And don't try to sneak around, either," the man wagged his finger with a smile and a wink. "I'll be watching."

Red had asked the man before; why was he not allowed back into Pallet? His answer was a shrug.

"Rules are rules, Red. You may be one to break them, but I am not."

When Red asked him who he was, he answered;

"Just a man with his own agenda."

When he asked him, 'Why me?'

"You broke the rules. That's why."

And when he asked him, 'Will I ever be able to return?' He said, with an almost sadistic chuckle,

"No, of course not. That's why I'm here."

Red had never seen the man before in his life. They had never spoken, nor had one ever seen the other. They were complete strangers, meeting for the first time in their lives. And on this first meeting the man was banning Red from his home town.

"You are forbidden from returning to Pallet Town, under any circumstances, for the rest of your life. You are welcome to come and go from any other town or city in all of Kanto; you are even allowed to leave the region. You may settle down, grow old, have a family… Just not here. You may continue to train Pokémon, if you wish. The world is yours for the taking, and you're welcome to it. But…" His gaze turned cold. "You are not welcome here."

Red protested, as anyone would if they were barred from returning home. But there was to be no compromise. No final goodbye, no last visit. Pallet Town was strictly off limits from Red- and _only_ Red. Blue had come and gone earlier that very day, without the coated man saying so much as hello. Oak had made a trip to Viridian, and Red's own mother had accompanied him; the man saw them all, and many others- sightseers coming to view the humble origins of the new champion. But none were stopped. None would even remember seeing him, if they did at all. Only Red was prohibited from entering.

When Red asked what was stopping him, the man replied, "Nothing but your self-control."

The man was pacing the dirt- on the other side of the line. "You see, there's nothing _physically_ stopping you from crossing the line. If you truly wish, I could simply step aside and let you pass on by. But let me tell you why you don't want that to happen. Because if you step over this line, or if you so much as _touch_ the shore on Pallet's beach, well…" He chuckled again. "You wouldn't like it very much. Let's just say Pallet would have a bit of a change of scenery. A lot of dark and gray, let's put it that way. And so, I am going to stay over here…" He pointed the cane at Pallet. "And you…" He pointed it at Red, then let it fall back to his side. "Are going to stay over there. Or else. I will warn you once. Do. Not. Cross." He tapped the ground with his cane on each word. "This line."

Red called the man on his claim. He didn't believe it- who would? He was effectively saying that if Red entered Pallet Town, then Pallet Town would cease to exist. No one in their right mind would believe such a thing. Not without reason. Not without evidence. So Red told the man, 'I think you're bluffing.'

The man wasn't fazed. With another relaxed shrug, he said, "If you don't believe me, then go ahead and cross. But I can't be blamed for what happens." He turned towards Pallet. "Be a shame for all that to disappear, though."

No matter what Red told himself, no matter how many times he forced the thought through his mind that there was no way for Pallet to disappear if he just walked over a line in the dirt, the doubt that maybe, just maybe, this man was telling the truth was there. He asked him, 'Can I really never come back…?'

"Well… There is _one_ way I could let you pass…"

'Name it!'

"…Beat me. In a Pokémon Battle."

'Easy.'

"So sure? I'll tell you now; I am not easily beaten."

He may as well have stayed silent.

Red immediately threw out his Pokéball, and out came his Pikachu, caught near the beginning of his adventure. This would be easy. No matter how strong the man's team, Red had never been beaten before _in his life_. It would be a cinch. And any doubt he had about entering Pallet Town would be erased. He waited for the man to call out his own team. But the man never did.

His arms were open wide. "Fire away."

Red, in a mood now that he had never felt before, ordered his Pokémon to do something he'd never done before; attack a human. But when Pikachu's Thunderbolt came zooming towards the man, he stopped the lightning with nothing more than his cane.

"You'll need a lot more than that, Red… If you intend to beat me."

Red switched to his Charizard, which proved useless as well. His Snorlax, his Venusaur, his Wartortle, even his newly acquired Espeon- not a single attack from any so much as scratched the man- or reached him. After that, with a single wave of the preverbal wand, Red was defeated. The man shook his head, and wordlessly turned to leave. Into Pallet. Where Red could not follow.

Red would train his Pokémon for the next three years in solitude, alone in Mt. Silver in the hills of Johto. Giving up his title of Champion voluntarily, he spent every waking minute of his time deep in the mountain's caves, training where wild Pokémon are their strongest. After three years in training, Red was confident in his abilities; he had the strongest team in the world once again. But as he prepared himself to return, a new trainer entered Mt. Silver's cavern. Challenged by them, he was defeated, and would spend the _next_ three years in training once more, striving for the day when he would feel worthy to return home and defeat the man with a cane.


End file.
